Say what you will about that highly-ratedDirty Harry film, it ably shows you what the 415 looked like back in 1971, back before it became too expensive for Hollywood to do business in San Francisco. This movie is all 100% genuine on-location San Francisco Bay Area (with the exception of the early bank heist shots).

Now these days, the Golden Gate Park’s Buffalo Paddock doesn’t have more than a half-dozen critters. There’s just a handful left, all female (the Golden Girls let’s call them), so unless Ted Turner comes through with his offer of free bison from one of his ranches in Montana or someplace, we’re going to run out of bison.

But check out how things were back in the day. They were all over. See?

You can barely make out the school bus that psychotic hippie Scorpio just hijacked:

Click to expand

I’ll get some more screen grabs and make some more posts from this movie later on.

In the meantime, check out all the locations – there are lots and lots:

It’s not easy getting a handle on things, based on what I’ve read. If the deputy AGs can establish a fingerprint match on a lighter, then what does that, by itself, prove about what Francisco Torres was actually doing on August 29, 1971?